Darnassian
Darnassian ( calls it DarnassaeQuotes by Arathandris Silversky) is the primary language of the night elves. It has both written and spoken equivalents. There are two specific dialects: Darnassian, the current language; and an older script, a strange dialect, that can be found in ancient night elf ruins (perhaps Elven). Just as the naga, high elves, and blood elves are descended from night elves, so Darnassian bears some resemblance to the Nazja and Thalassian languages. There are, however, strong ideological differences between the night elves and their distant kin. Thus, a linguist must take great care in drawing comparisons between Darnassian and its two cousin languages. Night elves tend to consider such comparisons offensive. It has been pointed out that Darnassian, an old language, shares the same root word with the name of the Night Elven capital, Darnassus, a city created relatively recently. Some reasons as to why this may be include: 1) the language was always called Darnassian, and the city was named for the language; 2) there was no name for the language prior to the foundation of the city, and so they bore the same, 3) the name of the language was changed, or 4) "darnass" has a translation we have not yet determined. This is one of the four elven dialects. (see below) Darnassian Primer (official translations) Here are a few common Darnassian phrases and words, for which the translations have been officially confirmed by Blizzard: * "An'da!" = "Papa!" (A nick name for a fatherWorld of Warcraft Comic #3 - Destiny Awaits) * "Ande'thoras-ethil." = "May your troubles be diminished."(A farewell.) * "Andu-falah-dor!" = "Let balance be restored!" (A war cry.) * "Ash Karath!" = "Do it!" * "Bandu Thoribas! = "Prepare to fight!" (A challenge to an enemy.) * "Ellemayne" = "Reaver" World of Warcraft Comic #13 - Flashback * "Elune-Adore." = "Elune be with you." (A greeting.) * "Fandu-dath-belore?" = "Who goes there?" * "Ishnu-alah." = "Good fortune to you" (A greeting.) * "Ishnu-dal-dieb." = "Good fortune to your family."(A greeting.) * "Shalla'tor" = "Shadow Render" * "Shan'do" = "Honored Teacher" (A title and term of respect.) * "Thero'shan" = "Honored student" (A title and term of respect.) * "Tor ilisar'thera'nal!" = "Let our enemies beware!" (A war cry.) * "Kaldorei" = "children of the stars", "people of the stars". (Starborne, night elves). * "Nordrassil" = "crown of the heavens" * "Quel'dorei" = "children of noble birth" ("Highborne", "High-borne", "high elves"). * "Sunstrider" = "he who walks the day"http://www.wowwiki.com/The_Founding_of_Quel%27Thalas * "Teldrassil" = "crown of the earth" * "Xaxas" = A short title with many meanings, all dire. "Chaos, "fury", "The embodiment of elemental rage, such as found in erupting volcanos or shattering earthquakes", "elemental fury", "catastrophe". Often used to refer to the black dragon Aspect Deathwing. * "Zin-Azshari" = "The glory of Azshara" Night Elf Names Night elf names always have a special meaning. First names derive from an elven word or the name of a famous hero having a totemic or ancestral connection. Surnames are indicative of the family line and often date back millennia. *Male Names: Ilthilior, Mellitharn, Khardona, Andissiel, Mardant, Tanavar. *Female Names: Kaylai, Keina, Deliantha, Meridia, Freja, Alannaria, Nevarial. *Family Names: Moonblade, Glaivestorm, Proudstrider, Oakwalker, Nightwing, Staghorn. Non-Translated Darnassian words or phrases Word list (speculation) This is the list of words created by the in-game language parser for the Darnassian language, and is listed as language number two (word range 101-202) in the Language text file. Note: The language algorithm used by the in-game "translator" merely makes the words LOOK like Darnassian. It does not actually use a specific dictionary. Therefore, translated in-game speech isn't true Darnassian. Darnassian Words or Phrases (speculation) These are the words we know of at the moment. Not all translations are 100% correct yet, but we're working on that. :See, Darnassian (speculation). Related languages The novel Cycle of Hatred mentions "four elven dialects". The Naga, high elves, and blood elves all speak languages derived from Darnassian. The Naga (former Highborn elves), speak the language Nazja, which is as corrupted as the creatures who speak it. The language of the high elves, who were exiled from Kalimdor, changed into what is now known as Thalassian. It is also the language of the blood elves. Elven is a language spoken on Mount Hyjal but at least one half-elf has learned it as well. Darnassian, Thalassian, and Najza seem to have many common phrases, as is evidenced by Prince Kael'thas' use of "Ishnu'alah", Lady Vashj's "Ishnu'dal'dieb", as well as the names of the different elf subtypes, the Kaldorei, Quel'dorei, and Sin'dorei. The high elves have very long life spans compared to humans, so Thalassian might be so similar to Darnassian that it would be more correct to call it a dialect, rather than a separate language. Although various sources also calls them languages, and imply that there would be difficulty in communication between the separate languages. Beyond the current spoken version of Darnassian there is at least one more ancient dialect of Darnassian, written in Darnassian runes. Although it is possible that it is the language currently known as Elven which is also spoken on Mount Hyjal.. References External links Κατηγορία:Game terms Κατηγορία:Languages